Optimus Maximus Keyboard

by Cliff Hatch on June 19, 2009

Organic Light Emitting Diodes (OLED) have made some headway in televisions, but what does that have to do with the Optimus Maximus Keyboard? It has 113 of them. Yep, you read that right, the keyboard has 113 OLED displays- right under your fingers. OLEDs are perfect for this application because they don’t have to be backlit like their LCD cousins. They’re also low power, and of course extremely thin.

So what can you do with it? Well each key is 48×48 pixels, with a frame rate of 10 fps, and the standard 65,536 colors. You could set up keys that show the CPU temperature- or the temperature outside. Customize the keys for gaming- such as Half Life. Want to use a Dvorak layout? No problem, switch that over. You can also switch languages and have your native tongue’s characters right under your fingers. You could even play tiny gifs or movies. Each key can be programmed to do different things, and you can paint images across all the keys. For a firsthand look, check out the video by clicking the picture at left. The creator, Art Lebedev Studios, has a demo online as well, when it loads click the hyperlinks along the top to see the different layouts. At CES 2008, Art Lebedev did an interview, talking about the keyboard, and also providing a bit of a live demonstration, including removing some of the keys/screens.

The Optimus Maximus Keyboard is probably better suited for high end applications such as graphic designers who need a completely customized key layout- or perhaps die hard gamers who want to have the most capable gaming system possible. But if you’ve got the means, it certainly makes a conversation piece.